Skinny Dipping
by mimijag
Summary: Prompt by Yankeecountess. Previously posted on tumblr. Just couple fluff. Thank you to Skinnycat777 for the beta.
1. Chapter 1

**Skinny dipping ½**

Mesmerized, Tom watched her as she emerged again from the water. Her perfect body was bathed by the moonlight and she looked like the Goddess she probably really was.

He sighed. How he wished right now that he had learned to swim.

They were back at Downton for a few days and the summer heat had reached a peak. Not able to sleep, Sybil had suggested they sneak out of the house and into the night for some refreshing skinny dipping. Sybil had then been surprised to learn that Tom didn't know how to swim. As they had already been to the beach back in Ireland, she naturally assumed he knew how but, thinking about it, they never really swam back then. They would just put their feet in the water, as it was always too cold to actually swim. Tom had been even more surprised to learn that she used to do this often at night when she was still living here. If he had known, he probably would have wandered over here more than once while he was still the chauffeur.

So now Sybil was enjoying the fresh water while he was patiently waiting for her on the pontoon, hotter than ever because of the view of her beautiful and naked body. There was no way to reach Sybil without swimming, so he was condemned to just dip his feet in the water.

Once more, her silvery body appeared from the water and he gulped, his body reacting immediately.

"Just another dive and I'm out," she said before disappearing under the black water.

Tom rose up and scanned the surface of the water, eager to see her again. A splash sounded and there she was, just under him at the end of the pontoon.

"Need any help, Milady?" he asked, smirking.

She didn't answer and just reached her hand out so he could help her onto the pontoon. Tom had to take a step back, the view in front of him mesmerizing. Droplets of water were sliding across her body, travelling down between her rounded breasts, her long black hair sticking at her back and chest; she looked like Venus. And he wanted her.

Tom cleared his throat.

"So? How was it?"

"Divine. I'm sorry you couldn't be there with me."

Tom shrugged.

"Not as much as me."

"You want me to cool you down a little bit?" she asked with a seductive smile, walking to him.

In two steps, she was in his arms and they were kissing like their lives depended on it. Because of the heat, he was only wearing his pajama bottoms, and they were now soaked but he didn't mind. Having her fresh body against his hot skin was heaven. Even if it wasn't cooling him down a bit.

A while later, they were lying on the pontoon, breathless, his pajamas long forgotten somewhere behind them but satisfied at last, their cries of pleasure having silenced the singing of the crickets for the time being. Their sweating bodies were intertwined, and they were feeling great despite the uncomfortable place they were lying on.

Sybil chuckled.

"What?" asked Tom.

"Now I have to go back in the water to cool down again. Your entire fault, Mr. Branson."

"Really? I'm not the one who suggested 'cooling me down a little bit'!"

"I didn't hear you protest, did I?"

Tom smacked at her bottom.

"How could I have? You looked like a goddess!"

"Flattery won't get you anywhere, Mister," laughed Sybil while leaving his arms.

Knowing she wanted to go back in the water after their passionate encounter, he didn't hold her back. She had already plunged in when he was finally on his feet, and he watched her swim with grace while he put his pajamas on again.

As she was waving at him, her breasts bouncing in the moonlight, Tom swore to himself that, by next summer, he'll be with her in this very same lake. There was no way that he will only be a spectator again. Dreaming about how her body would feel against his in the water was the only motivation he needed to learn how to swim.

**TBC…**


	2. one year later

**Skinny dipping 2/2**

**One year later…**

Another hot day was over at Downton Abbey and, even if it was almost midnight now, the air was still stifling and wet. The Bransons were in their bedroom, trying to find a sleep that wouldn't come. Sybil was sprawled in the middle of their bed, only clad in a thin, white cotton nightdress while Tom, bare-chested, was desperately trying to get some fresh air at the open window.

He turned to look at his wife who was now going over her face with a damp cloth, her cheeks red from the heat.

"This heat is killing me," she moaned. "Surely this is the end of the world."

Tom chuckled then looked back outside, an idea forming in his mind. Why didn't he think about it before? Why didn't Sybil think about it?

Sure to have found the solution to their heat issue and a way to surprise his lovely wife, Tom went to the bed and reached for his wife's hand.

"Come with me," he demanded.

Sybil pulled up a corner of the damp cloth on her face and opened an eye.

"What?"

Tom didn't answer and just reached for her hand and pulled her to him.

"Tom!" gasped Sybil. "What's got into you? Don't even think about it, it's far too hot for…"

"Shhhhhh, woman," he groaned with a smile. "Or you'll wake up the whole house."

Sybil chuckled but went silent when Tom reached for the cloth and blindfolded her with it.

"Are you kidding me?" she said finally when Tom tugged at her hand for her to follow him.

"Trust me?" he simply breathed into her ear and Sybil couldn't contain the shiver running through her body. "Now, quiet," he ordered.

Sybil nodded and she then heard the door being opened. Her hand safely folded in Tom's, she followed him in silence, trying to guess where they were heading. She recognized the hallway, then the big stairs. Some several steps later there were more stairs but tighter ones, then the smell of cooking. So, they were downstairs, in the servant's area…

Another door was opened and she felt the gravel under her slippers and heard the crickets singing.

"Tom? Are we going into the garage?" she asked, a smile in her voice.

"Nope. Not even close!" he teased.

"Come on, tell me!"

"You're even worse than your daughter, you know," he laughed. "Fairy patience clearly didn't lean on your cradle."

Sybil stopped walking and pulled her hand from his. She crossed her arms on her chest and pouted like a child. Tom couldn't stop the smile from spreading on his face because, right at this moment, he could see his daughter in his wife.

"Come on, Darling. Don't be a spoil sport. I want it to be a surprise."

Realizing she may have been overreacting a little bit, Sybil's stance relaxed.

"Alright, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be a pain in the neck. I guess this heat is making me grumpy."

As a sign of surrendering, she reached for his hand and they went on in silence, enjoying the cricket's concert, the serenity of the nature around them, and the pleasure of being alone together.

At some point, Tom stopped and Sybil could hear the lapping of the water.

"Are we at the lake?" she asked, reaching up to unfold the cloth from her eyes.

"Shhh, not yet," answered Tom softly to stop her hand.

"But it's so unfair, Tom," she said not even questioning the fact that he had just forbidden her from taking the cloth off. "You can't enjoy the coolness of the water. So I refuse to go this time."

"Do as you please," he answered.

Sybil was about to retort when a loud "splash" of water resounded and she cried out thinking that maybe Tom had fallen in the water. And he didn't know how to swim! Shivering from fear and ready to plunge in to help him, she quickly took off the cloth and stopped short seeing her husband's pajamas bottom on the deck and this very same husband grinning at her from down in the water, looking not at all like he was sinking.

"Tom? What…?"

She frowned and looked at him. He was slightly moving his arms to stay on top of the water and didn't look panicked at all.

"I feel lonely," he stated seeing his wife had become speechless. "Are you coming or do you want to stay hot and miserable all by yourself over there?" he smirked.

"But how…?"

"Come here," he beckoned to her, "and I'll tell you how."

With that, he started to swim away on his back, uninhibitedly showing his whole anatomy to his wife.

Dumfounded, Sybil mechanically took off her nightdress and let it fall on the deck on top of her husband's clothes, still mesmerized to see him in the water, her eyes locked to his as he was watching her getting undressed, not losing any of her beauty.

Sybil plunged in and then reemerged near him. As soon as she was within reach, he took her in his arms. They were both floating; looking in each other's eyes, mesmerized that this was happening.

"I dreamed of this moment for so long…" stated Tom. "Having you here, in my arms…so…naked."

Sybil laughed heartily.

"You can have me naked whenever you want. I thought you knew that already."

Tom chuckled too.

"What I mean is here, in the water…even if it's not quite as comfortable as what I had in mind."

"So? Are you going to tell me how and when you learned how to swim or do I need to guess it?" she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.

They were forced to move their feet under the water to avoid sinking but they still managed to stay close.

"Do you remember the late nights at work this past year?"

Sybil nodded in his neck as she was busy kissing him there.

"Well, I wasn't really at work…"

Sybil looked over him and frowned. "Do you mean you lied to me?"

Tom looked contrite. "I wanted it to be a surprise."

"So where were you going if you weren't at work?"

"A colleague of mine lives in Blackrock. His wife works at the baths over there. He offered to teach me. So, once a week, I traveled back with him by car and his wife would let us in after hours. And before you say anything, yes, they had the right to use them once in a while. This way, I could spare the price of the entrance and the train ticket. I only had to pay for the return trip. It took time but at last, after a few months, I learned how to swim. And here we are."

He smiled widely at her, clearly proud of himself.

"I can't believe you put yourself through so much trouble just for me…and just to be here, in the water."

Tom chuckled. "After five years you still don't know that I would do anything for you? It was cheaper this way than to take lessons in Dublin. Plus, I can now teach Saoirse. But…what really motivated me in the first place was seeing you in here last summer."

"Seeing me in here?"

"You have no idea how beautiful and sexy you looked, do you? All wet and naked, your hair dripping …a real goddess. I just had to be here with you…to be free to touch you like this…"

Rather than words, Tom let one of his hands go under the water to touch his wife's thigh. Sybil moaned in his mouth as they shared a hot kiss.

"Too bad we haven't some leverage," sighed Tom when they parted. "Or I could show you what you do to me."

He explicitly moved his hips against her and Sybil closed her eyes from pleasure, feeling his hardness against her core.

"I think I can arrange that," she answered with a saucy smile.

She left his arms and swam back to the dock. Shaking his head and laughing, Tom swam after her. She stopped near one of the posts of the dock and leaned back against it with a lascivious pose, her hand firmly gripped at the wood.

"Do you think this will do?" she asked with a raspy voice.

Tom swam the last space between them then took hold of her legs to wrap them around his hips.

"I think we can manage," he breathed before entering her.

Not far away from the two lovers, a cricket stopped singing, disturbed by soft moans then cries of pleasure. It rolled its eyes then moved away. _"Great, they're back,"_ he thought_. "Once wasn't enough!"_

**The end**


End file.
